'Very special' £10million boost for hotel, golf and spa complex

All Saints Hotel Golf and Spa, at Fornham St Genevieve, just outside Bury St Edmunds, has been owned by David Harris for about five-and-a-half-years.

He has already invested in excess of £5m since taking on the 150-acre site, and plans in the pipeline would equate to a further £10million spend.

Some of these schemes are awaiting planning consent, including a recent application for two tennis courts, a pickleball court and a golf range.

In the distance is the site for the tennis courts, pickleball court and golf range (Image: Archant)

Mr Harris, of M&D Developments, said his vision is to achieve "something very special" - not just for the All Saints venue, but Bury St Edmunds.

Mr Harris, who also owns Hengrave Hall, a popular wedding venue, said: "What we are trying to do is make it a destination resort.

"There isn't anything like it in Bury where you can stay with all the facilities - gym, swimming pool, restaurants, golf course, spa."

He added: "The latest application is for two tennis courts, a pickleball court - it's becoming very popular - and a driving range for golfers.

"It's trying to bring things together so we have got these things that people will like to use."

The new outdoor gym area, which is also used for classes such as yoga (Image: Archant)

Additions were made to All Saints during lockdown, including a new reception area, an outdoor gym, relaxation room, and a golf simulation room is nearly complete.

The hotel, currently at 41 bedrooms, is set to double its number of rooms and an extension including a golf members' lounge is hoped to start soon.

Awaiting planning decisions are proposals for 15 holiday lodges - scaled back from an original 70 - and a handful of apartments, the latter of which would be privately owned.

David Harris, of M&D Developments, wants to grow All Saints into a 'destination resort' (Image: Archant)

Mr Harris said: "I'm not a hotelier, but we try to do what is right for the venue or for the hotel.

"I have seen the huge amount of support it brings to other businesses, whether it's a taxi driver or a florist, the person who does the chair covers. All of this ricochets out of the business."

All Saints, which also has three function rooms, has a new head chef, Adam Spicer, who has joined the All Saints team of about 80 people.

Adam Spicer, the new head chef (Image: Archant)

Mr Spicer, who has ambitions for The View restaurant of three Rosettes and getting in the Michelin Guide, said they had just started their new menu, adding: "We just want to produce the best food we can, regionally and locally sourced."

If pending plans for the site come to fruition, 20 plus jobs would be generated there.

For more information about All Saints Hotel Golf and Spa see here.